For the hope has been given to us
by sodapoppana
Summary: Dís saying goodbye to her brother and sons, and the rest of the news from Erebor reaching her ears.
1. Chapter 1

This is an answer to Chick1966's request, Dís saying goodbye to Thorin, Fíli and Kíli. I have to say, I do like writing about Dís.

* * *

**And the hope keeps growing like that light of spring**

Dís had stayed up all night baking and packing. She had made bread and buns, canned some jam and wrapped dried fruits and meat; she had even made some syrup cakes and a whole lot more. All in all, there was probably enough food for an army of dwarves. After all the food arranging, she had thought about every possible little thing one might need on a long journey and searched them ready.

When she was done with everything she stepped outside to enjoy a cup of tea in peace, watching the sun rise. Her brother had set out the day before; since he had a council meeting he had to take part of. Dís had tried to offer a lot of stuff (mostly food) to take with him, but he had declined. From her concerning words and motherly advices he though couldn't escape.

"Are you sure you don't want anything with you Thorin? You will starve to death before you get even to the Misty Mountains, not to talk about Erebor", she had said to him on the doorway.

"Yes sister, I am sure. You do not have to worry about me", Thorin had answered calmly, once again.

"Well, I don't really worry about you, it's those two I'm worried about", Dís waved her head inside where her two sons were having a very loud talk about whose weapons were better and betting on which one would get to kill more orcs. Dís certainly hoped they wouldn't even see a glimpse of mentioned creatures. "Promise me you will look after them. They are still just boys." She looked her brother with pleading eyes.

"I shall have some extra cautions with them", he answered frowning to the sight of his nephews, he had seen their quarrels more than enough to know it would soon turn into a brawl. He shook his head; he really did hope the boys would be more of a profit than giving trouble on this journey, though he wouldn't have decide to take them with him if that wasn't the case. "They are great warriors. I trained them myself", Thorin said aloud his thoughts.

"I know brother. But this is first time they go on such a quest, they have never been in a real fight against enemies who want to harm them, maybe even kill them."

"Do not worry, they will be fine, I promise you", Thorin said stably making his sister feel a bit calmer. "But now I have to leave. Fíli, Kíli, I'll meet you and the rest of the company later. Don't be late."

"Have a good journey to the council Thorin", Fíli answered from the top of his brother, who was lying on his stomach beneath him.

"We'll see you at the burglar's place", Kíli added his voice muffled, for his brother was pressing his face on the floor. It seemed that Fíli was going to win this round.

Thorin sighed to his nephews before heading towards the council meeting. Dís had stayed watching her brother's furthering back, until she had to have go back inside and give quite smacks on her sons' heads with a ladle.

Dís squinted her eyes in the sun beams waking from her thoughts. It was about time. She emptied the cup and went back inside.

"Boys! Wake up!" She was given no answer but that didn't matter, she knew it took some time for her sons to get themselves up from the bed. Instead of calling them again, she started to prepare breakfast. They would need a sturdy one on this morning.

"Breakfast is ready!" Dís yelled again. After fifteen minutes of waiting, she went to look what was taking so long. "Fíli! Kíli! Your food is getting cold if you don't come now! Are you two still asleep?" The last sentence came with a high-pitched disbelieving voice. She had opened the door to the room where Fíli was supposed to sleep, but found both of her sons there sound asleep. Fíli had fallen halfway from the bed (or had fallen asleep that way) and Kíli was using his brother's feet (the part that was on the bed) as his pillow.

Dís knew the boys had been in the pub having the last drinks before their journey, but she had thought they would have enough sense not to stay too late and only have couple of ales. From the smell and snoring she could guess she had been wrong.

"Get up you two! Did you not promise your uncle you would be on time? The sun has already risen!"

"Just five more minutes, then I'll be sure I can find it", Kíli mumbled mindlessly clearly still asleep. Dís gave a heavy sigh before she kicked her sons out of the bed, more or less literally.

It always managed to surprise her how well her sons were in the morning no matter how much they had drank last night. Right now she watched them stuffing food in their mouths like they were afraid someone would soon take it from them.

"I gathered some things you might find useful on your travel", Dís said and was about to get up and get the items so her sons could decide what to take with them, when Fíli stopped her.

"Thank you mother, but we have packed everything we need already."

"Unh an' wme twalkemd wmit-"

"Kíli, not your mouth full of food", Dís scolded her younger son and to her horror, he spitted all the food from his mouth onto his hand.

"I was saying, we talked with Thorin about everything we should take with us, so no need to worry." And then he happily put the food back into his mouth and started to chew again. Sometimes it was hard for Dís to believe her son was already in his seventies.

"Are you sure? There might be something you have forgotten and if you don't have it with you then-"

"Then we'll have to deal without it", Fíli interrupted.

"Weally mum-"

"Kíli. And do not spit it out of your mouth! Just swallow before you talk!"

Kíli gave a shocked look at his mother before swallowing half of the food in his mouth. "That's just waste! I can eat so much more if I don't use my time to empty my mouth before talking."

"The food isn't running anywhere brother", Fíli said looking his brother amused. Kíli just gave him a quick glare before putting his concentration back to eating.

"At least take the food I prepared for you", Dís begged.

"If you mean all the things I saw in the kitchen, then I'm afraid it won't fit our bags. And we have to think how heavy they'll get", Fíli answered apologetic.

"Hey, thaa wha aa wa tain ta saa!" Fíli and Dís looked both at Kíli with a raised eyebrow.

"Please teach your brother some table manners. You'd think one would have learned some by his age."

"Yeah… I can try." Though Fíli didn't really think that was possible anymore, not that dwarves actually had much table manners.

In the end the boys had lots of the food, their mother had prepared, in their bags. Dís even managed to put some extra with them when neither was watching.

They were all three of them standing at the foot of the mountain. Dís watched her sons in full armor, weapons on them and holding their ponies who carried their bags. She couldn't help but feel a bit sad, there her sons was, ready on their first adventure, all grown up, well, at least almost.

"Are you two sure you don't need anything else?" She asked once again causing Kíli to sigh a little bit, Fíli shoving him with his elbow before answering to her.

"We have everything we'll need and besides the ponies would probably throw us from their backs if we'd take anything more with us."

Dís gave a little nod but she couldn't stop worrying. "Do you have warm clothes with you? Is that food surely enough? I still have plenty of it. Do you have your handkerchiefs with you?" She would have gone with that for half a day at least, if Kíli hadn't stopped her.

"Mum, firstly we're not some kids anymore; you can't keep on pampering us. And secondly, we are starting to be in a hurry here."

"Yes I can, you are my children and you will always be, no matter what", Dís said determinedly, but tears were forming up in her eyes.

"He didn't mean it like that", Fíli said comfortingly.

"I'm sorry mum", Kíli added apologetic after getting another shove from his brother.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just… I will just miss you two so much", Dís said voice broken and tears falling on her cheeks.

"Don't worry mother", Fíli said and stepped forward to her, "we'll be back before you even notice and then we can all go together back home." He smiled gently before kissing his mother on her forehead and stepping back so that Kíli could step forward.

"He's right and when we do get back you'll notice yourself wishing we hadn't been so fast on our journey." He gave a mischievous smile before too planting a kiss on her forehead and then he added: "we love you mum."

"And I love both of you." She smiled through her tears and waved goodbyes to her sons. After their features had long disappeared from her sight, she went back inside as her plan to go finally to sleep. After all, all she could do now was to wait.


	2. Chapter 2

**For the hope has been given to us**

The word of victory from Lonely Mountain to Blue Mountains traveled fast. Dís was sitting on her armchair repairing some ragged clothes she had found (most of them of course being her sons'), when a dwarf came in, remembering to knock the door, but apparently too eager to get to tell the news to wait for her to answer.

"Please do come in", Dís said to the dwarf scolding, but with a twinkle on her eye.

"I'm sorry Lady Dís, but I thought you wanted to hear it immediately. They did it! The Erebor is ours again!"

It took all her willpower and dignity to not jump in the air and scream from the excitement. Instead she thanked from the news and waited the dwarf to leave before she let the widest smile in the years split her face. It was unbelievable and yet it was exactly what Thorin had promised to do, he had reclaimed their home!

Dís could only imaging what her brother felt right at the moment, not to talk about her sons and the other dwarves. They could currently be walking on the halls of Erebor, of home. Home. Oh, how she had missed that word. She had been just a little girl when they had had to leave everything behind, but she could remember what the home was like. She remembered the feeling of home, the smells, how the rock felt against bare foot, all the voices… and family. A lonely tear fell on Dís' cheek as she looked back on those days, when her family had still been whole, when her parents, grandparents and especially her other brother, Frerin, had been alive. They all would have been so proud of Thorin, _she_ was so proud of him and her sons. She gave a little chuckle as she thought about Fíli and Kíli; this had been their first adventure and she knew they had gone through lot and were certainly eager to share all this with their mother. And she waited that heartfelt.

It was weeks after the first news that someone of the company came back to Blue Mountains. Only words they had heard besides reclaiming Erebor, were that there had been a big war against orcs and that the mountain had its king again. So when Dís opened the door to see Balin there, she felt her heart jump, finally she could hear how everyone was doing.

"Balin, my old friend", she gave a warm hug to a dwarf whose beard had gone all white with such a young age, "please, come in and tell me how my brother and sons are."

"Dís", Balin said gently and stepped in closing the door behind him. Though Dís had asked him to tell about everyone, she didn't give him a chance to do so.

"You can't even imagine how impatient and eager I have been to hear the whole story. We haven't heard much from Lonely Mountain, was Smaug even alive anymore when you got there?"

"He was", Balin answered as Dís inhaled, "a young man from the Lake-town, Bard if I recall correctly, slayed him."

Dís nodded slightly for the answer and continued her flood of words. "Thorin must be so full of joy and happiness. He has dreamed about this for so long. He even filled his young nephews' heads with stories about Erebor's treasures."

"Dís", Balin tried to interrupt the chattering dwarf woman.

"Would you like some tea?" She asked and went to the kitchen Balin following her. "How are the boys anyway? Were they amazed by the halls? I'm sure they couldn't even start to imagine how great the halls of Erebor really are."

"DÍS!" Balin thundered, silencing her. For a second Dís stared the calm dwarf surprised. Then her lips started to twitch downwards and eyes filled with tears.

"None of them made it, did they", she asked with a hoarse voice, though she knew the answer already. She had known it from the moment she had seen Balin standing on her doorsteps, maybe even before that.

Balin shook his head. "I'm sorry lass." The tears ran free on Dís' cheeks and the cry she let out was about to break Balin's heart, so full of despair and loss it was. Carefully Balin embraced the woman whose spark of hope had died and gently stroked her back.

She had lost everything, everything she cared about, everything she loved. Now the word 'home' echoed emptily in her ears with no meaning in it. What was home without her family, without her sons? They would never come back to her; she would never see their smiles again. Her Fíli and Kíli, her little boys. She shouldn't have let them go. How many times did she tell them how dangerous it would be, how many times did she tell Thorin to watch over them. And now they were all gone, all three of them.

"They promised to come back", she whispered not realizing she was talking out loud, until Balin answered.

"I know lass. And I am truly sorry", he said putting a cup of tea in front of her. In the end it had been Balin who had boiled tea for Dís. He sat opposite her. "But they died honorably and their deaths were not in vain." Dís knew he was trying to comfort her, but none of that mattered to her. She wouldn't have cared if her sons had run cowardly back home if it meant having them back alive.

After Dís had calmed down enough, Balin told her everything. So her sons had died defending her brother. Oh, how she hoped it had been someone else shielding him, Dwalin and Óin perhaps. And immediately after that thought came into her mind she was ashamed of it. But she just wanted her boys back; they still had had the whole life in front of them. Naturally she knew they had both been grown-ups already, but in her mind they would always be those two rascals doing their antics, faces on mud and smirking shamelessly.

Very soon Balin was already making his way out. Dís tried to offer him something to eat and told that he could stay the night at her place, but he still had places to visit and ways to go. So they both said goodbyes and Balin continued his traveling.

Dís sighed heavily as she closed the door. This was how her life would be from now on; lonely and bitter. She would age alone hoping every day that the death would come and take her for she had nothing left here anymore. Still after all her thoughts, she could feel a blooming proudness inside her heart. Her sons had died protecting their uncle and her brother may have died but he also had accomplished his kin's dream and took Erebor back. She was proud of all of them.


End file.
